HOUSTON, Texas — The Spanky's kitchen staff is accustomed to slinging plenty of pies. But the original location on Telephone Road has never been busier.
The pizza place decided to honor 9 year-old shooting victim Arlene Alvarez by contributing 30% of all proceeds Monday to her family.
"We’ve been in business for over 45 years, and I’ve never seen anything like this," said owner Holly Waters. "But it just shows you what this community can do.”
Alvarez family members are regular customers at Spanky's who are dealing with unimaginable grief after Arlene's shooting death. It was the little girl's favorite pizza place and the family was headed there the night she was shot.
"You don’t wish that upon anybody," said customer Isabel Anderson. "You know, I feel for her family.”
"We’ve made a donation in addition to the meal," said customer Gary Woorstell. "It needs to be done.”
Arlene’s cousin, Samantha Castellanos, and her family were among the lunch rush.
"Every time I think about her, I just break down into tears," said Samantha. "And it just hurts me so much that I can never see her again.”
This is just the latest fundraiser to help the Alvarez family in the wake of last Monday’s tragedy. It's a story that clearly touched a lot of people.
“I don’t know, it broke my heart to see," said customer Maria Farciet. "You know, what happened to her and, you know, just wanted to come out here and do our part, you know, and help.”
"For them to support the family, it's something very beautiful and very special," " said cousin Martin Castellanos.
Arlene's parents and little brothers planned to visit Spanky's on Monday night.